Celebrate 20 Years of KY Fairness Ordinances

Do you remember what were you doing the night of January 26, 1999?

Were you lucky enough to be seated in the overfull chambers of the Louisville Board of Aldermen as they took their historic vote on the Fairness Ordinance? Perhaps you were outside, in the sea of supporters, anxiously awaiting word on what was happening inside? Did you join the jubilant crowd at the Connection for the victory rally?

Kentucky’s first anti-discrimination Fairness Ordinance passed into law 20 years ago next month, and it ushered in a new era of LGBTQ rights across our state. In July of the same year, Lexington activists’ hard work paid off with their city’s Fairness Ordinance, and Jefferson County later adopted its own in October.

Now, ten cities across our Commonwealth extend the same LGBTQ protections that Louisville and Lexington did in 1999. This month, Somerset had its first reading of a Fairness Ordinance that could make it the 11th Kentucky city to ban LGBTQ discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. With your help, we’ll be there every step of the way as new cities seek to advance LGBTQ civil rights, and we’ll work to stop all efforts to thwart or repeal them.

Please mark your calendar for our 20th anniversary event January 26, 2019 from 6-8 p.m. at the Louisville Free Public Library (301 York St., 40203). Join early Fairness Campaign leaders and members of the 1999 Louisville Board of Alderman for a reception, history panel discussion, and the opening of our exhibit, “Fairness Still Does a City Good!”